Male Directed Sexual Violence in Conflict: A Challenge for Gender Studies

Abstract

In recent years, extensive empirical data has indicated that acts of severe sexual assault are being perpetrated against large numbers of men in many areas of conflict around the world. In spite of such data, recognition of this problem within gender studies remains limited. This is due to many reasons including the opposition of a variety of feminism that is reluctant to acknowledge male victimhood. This paper argues that feminist reservations about a focus on male-directed sexual violence in conflict are unfounded, especially as adherence to dichotomous gender models of “male equals perpetrator/female equals victim” ignores the comparable suffering of male survivors. A feminist analysis is enriched and complemented by a focus on male survivors and on the gendered power relations that operate among men.